USC921_0002

MOONBI 116 (17th September, 2007) — 2
Fraser Island Benefits from Local Government Reforms
In the process of slashing the number of Queensland councils from 156 to 72 Premier Beattie
inadvertently did Fraser Island a long overdue favour by bringing it all under the control of a
single local authority — the Fraser Coast Regional Council. In this he has FIDO’s support.
Ever since 1974 when former Bjelke-Petersen Local
Government Minister, Russell Hinze, intervened to divide
Fraser Island between Hervey Bay and Maryborough city
councils the island has suffered from the lack of consistent
land positive local government to support and protect the
island’s World Heritage values. Until 1974 Fraser Island
was administered by the then Burrum Shire Council.
However when the Hervey Bay City Council was created,
Minister Hinze took away the southern half of the island
and gave it to Maryborough to facilitate the exploitation of
its timber and mineral resources despite the
recommendations of a local government boundaries
inquiry. A serious anomaly has existed which has made
the integrated administration of the island difficult.
In February 2001 Queensland Premier Peter Beattie
promised that if he was re-elected his new government
would (bring) Fraser Island under the planning control of
a single government agency. These three “core promises”
were part of the environmental policy in the policy speech:
* Giving statutory recognition to Queensland's
responsibility to fulfil our obligations under the World
Heritage Convention to formulate and implement WHA
Management Plans that give priority to the protection
and conservation of World Heritage values while
presenting those values to the best advantage;
* Giving legislative effect to World Heritage area
Management Plans to ensure their planning policy and
principles are reflected in local planning schemes and
considered in the assessment of development
applications, and
* Giving priority to implementing the Great Sandy Region
Management Plan (including bringing Fraser Island
under the planning control of a single government
agency) and finalize submissions necessary to expand
the Fraser Island World Heritage area to incorporate
the entire Great Sandy Region including Cooloola
National Park.
It is regrettable that Fraser Island wasn’t brought under the
control of a single authority (as recommended in the
Fitzgerald Report back in 1996) when Local Government
Commissioner Greg Hoffman’s review of local authority
boundaries in the Great Sandy Region (commissioned by
the Goss Government) was stopped in its tracks by the
Borbidge Government. There was then the chance to
implement the most logical of moves to improve the
administration of the island.
Although more than 99% of the island’s area is
incorporated in the Great Sandy National Park almost 99%
of the problems of management of the island emanate from
the 1% which is outside the jurisdiction of the QPWS.
The settlements are the epicenters of visitor movements.
They are also the epicenters of weed infestation and a
much wider range of problems including the management
of domestic pets, the negative interactions between
dingoes and residents and much more.
Fraser Island contributes enormously to the economy of
the region. How much benefit from Fraser Island goes to
Maryborough and how much goes to Hervey Bay should
now no longer be any consideration in how much a
mainland based council should be prepared to put into this
huge regional economic generator.
It makes so much sense to combine the separate
administration of this most significant economic resource,
ecological treasure and single bio-geographic unit under a
single administration. For more than three decades the
two mainland based councils have found it awkward and
expensive to maintain separate infrastructures to service
the island. There can now be a single more efficient
authority which combines and improves on the previous
means of dealing with local government issues on the
island.
It is most significant that the new Regional Council
indeed takes its name from the island.
Iconic Legislation?
FIDO is now encouraged that having moved to bring all of
Fraser Island back into one local authority the Beattie
Government has also indicated it will do more to ensure
that the new local government regime protects World
Heritage and iconic areas of Queensland.
Local Government and Planning Minister Andrew Fraser
whose department will oversee the new legislation said the
iconic status could include areas of state or national
significance, areas of historical significance, areas of
unique natural environment and World Heritage areas.
He said, "Internationally, Queensland is environmentally
unique and there are very few other places that could
match our areas of iconic importance."
Premier Peter Beattie said the Iconic Queensland Strategy
would give the force of state law to already existing
planning schemes in such environmentally significant and
important areas as the Fraser Coast area. He said, "What
the government will do is legislate to ensure those
planning schemes now have more grunt and the clout to
ensure icons like … are given even more protection. …
Of course, appropriate development will continue but with
the new laws, planning schemes in these areas become
more powerful than ever.”
FIDO wrote to the Premier seeking to clarify if this will be
a step towards delivering his promises of February 2001.